Miami Dade College is Using Out-of-the-Box Teaching Techniques to Better Prepare its Students for the Future with NBC Learn

Miami, January 28, 2014 -
Miami Dade College (MDC) professors and students are finding creative ways to incorporate news clips and special collections into classroom instruction, blended and online learning, and research with digital resources provided by NBC Learn.

The NBC Learn collection includes more than 12,000, 3-6 minute video clips, as well as documents, images, and other resources from the NBC News archives that are specifically designed for use in classrooms to stimulate and engage students. This innovative and collaborative teaching mechanism enable faculty to access archived news articles, photos, videos, and other media with a simple click of the mouse.

In a recent survey, one professor said, “I chose this video on Poverty of America: Food Stamps and the Middle Class because it shows one of the consequences of the recent Great Recession that affected our economy recently, a topic that I discuss in class whenever I cover Business Cycles. There were many videos related with the recent, economic events. This was only one of them.”

Students are using the resource as a tool, and embedding those topics onto their online discussion polls. Professors report it generates rich, student debates on a wide range of concepts stemming from math to science to business, among others. The College’s Training and Development Program allows faculty to share ideas for using videos during workshops, and plans to incorporate the use of such videos in future departmental meetings.

Recently, NBC Learn provided four sessions at the College focusing on discipline resources for writing, business, science, and math. Since its inception in 2012, faculty, staff, and students have viewed more than 21,000 videos through the MDC Website or as embedded links in the Learning Management System. Among the most popular were Link between Stress and Weight Gain, A Look at Alzheimer’s Disease, and Stress Management Techniques.

MDC students, including those attending the College’s nationally-recognized, dual-enrollment high school, School for Advanced Studies, and the New World School of the Arts, have access to NBC Learn through their college portal and library databases.

MDC teamed up with this educational arm of NBC News during the 2012 fall semester, and receives subscription access to its award-winning resources, thanks to grants from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Miami Foundation, and the Marlins Foundation. MDC has also contributed videos and news reports to the national NBC Learn site where its videos are showcased with those from other top colleges and universities.

Miami Dade College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate and baccalaureate degrees.
Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Miami Dade College.
Miami Dade College is an equal access/equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, marital status, age, religion, national origin,
disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, or genetic information. Contact the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs/ADA Coordinator, at 305.237.2577 for information.